I used to be in the same situation as these kids. My mom loved spicy food, so that's what she cooked. My poor taste buds couldn't even handle the mild salsa from the jar. This meant there were days when I just didn't eat dinner because the food was inedible. It took a while, but my mom learned to make things milder for me and I eventually was able to eat dinner without scraping the outer layers into the trash.

I grew up in New Mexico where everything had green chile. Learning to like spicy food was gradual and happened because I like to eat and not because my mom forced jalapenos on me.